According to a recent report, Chinese investment in the Asia-Pacific area increased significantly in 2023, defying global trends even as the second-largest economy in the world falters.

According to a survey released by Fudan University in Shanghai and Griffith University in Brisbane, Chinese investment in the Asia-Pacific region last year increased by 37% to about $20 billion. Additionally, it recorded almost $17 billion in construction contracts, up about 14% from 2022 and partially funded by Chinese financing.

According to the research, the figures contrast sharply with the 12% drop in total foreign direct investment into Asia's rising economies in the previous year. The data was released in the same week that the Chinese government set a target for gross domestic product growth of "around 5%" for 2024, which matches the goal set last year. Nevertheless, analysts believe that the economy will be severely impacted by weak domestic and international demand, constrained manufacturing, and an ongoing real estate downturn.

The majority of the international effort was directed toward nations that support Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to create an infrastructure network that connects Asia to Europe and beyond. According to data provided by Christoph Nedopil, director of the Griffith Asia Institute, investment in non-BRI nations fell to an all-time low of $120 million, down 90% from what was already a record low in 2022.

Southeast Asia received around 50% of China's regional investments in 2023—a 27% increase over the previous year. Indonesia received over $7.3 billion, making it the greatest receiver overall.

A large portion of that was TikTok's $840 million purchase of 75% of Indonesian internet giant GoTo's e-commerce division, Tokopedia. This was in part an attempt by the massive Chinese internet company to re-enter Indonesian e-commerce following regulators' October 2018 forced separation of TikTok's social media and shopping sections.